The Phantom Canyon scenic road to Victor and Cripple Creek will be closed to all through traffic for nearly a month starting Monday, April 27th, to allow for road stabilization work. The Fremont County Commissioners recently awarded a bid to Patch Construction Company to perform the road stabilization at the site of three ravines on Phantom Canyon Road about nine miles north of Highway 50. The area targeted is about a mile north of the historic railroad trestle.
Stormwater from the July, 2006, flood in Phantom Canyon washed away a significant amount of material from the edge of the road high atop a steep cliff. Widening the road towards the canyon wall was not an option, so the project was engineered to excavate below the road surface. Gabion baskets filled with large rocks that protrude over the cliff will then be installed in the excavated area. Once the road surface is replaced the gabion baskets should limit future washouts from heavy rains.
Road closure signs will go up April 27th at both ends of the road in Fremont and Teller Counties warning motorists that Phantom Canyon will not be passable during the construction period. Work is projected to be completed in 30 days or less.
Patch Construction submitted the lowest of six bids for the project at a cost of $15,427. The project is one of three road projects in 2009 being funded from a $350,000 State Gaming Impact grant awarded to Fremont County. Work will also get underway this summer on installation of guardrail along High Park Road (County Road 11) and 3 1/2 miles of asphalt overlay work on Red Canyon Road north of Canon City. Use of the grant money is limited exclusively to roads that carry casino gaming traffic to Cripple Creek.
Stormwater from the July, 2006, flood in Phantom Canyon washed away a significant amount of material from the edge of the road high atop a steep cliff. Widening the road towards the canyon wall was not an option, so the project was engineered to excavate below the road surface. Gabion baskets filled with large rocks that protrude over the cliff will then be installed in the excavated area. Once the road surface is replaced the gabion baskets should limit future washouts from heavy rains.
Road closure signs will go up April 27th at both ends of the road in Fremont and Teller Counties warning motorists that Phantom Canyon will not be passable during the construction period. Work is projected to be completed in 30 days or less.
Patch Construction submitted the lowest of six bids for the project at a cost of $15,427. The project is one of three road projects in 2009 being funded from a $350,000 State Gaming Impact grant awarded to Fremont County. Work will also get underway this summer on installation of guardrail along High Park Road (County Road 11) and 3 1/2 miles of asphalt overlay work on Red Canyon Road north of Canon City. Use of the grant money is limited exclusively to roads that carry casino gaming traffic to Cripple Creek.